


Burning Love

by AltruisticSkittles



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mainly Remus hurt/comfort, There's a dragon loose in Remus's room, no real dragons were harmed in the making of this story, there's a lot of platonic Remus & everyone in here so I hope that's your thing c:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:33:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21856093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AltruisticSkittles/pseuds/AltruisticSkittles
Summary: After Remus's door starts smoking and oozing into the mindscape, the other sides decide to go into his room and investigate. Turns out, the monster is a lot more than they think it is, and it's going to take a little more than healing magic to get rid of it.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 82
Collections: Sanders Sides Secret Santa 2019





	Burning Love

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warnings: disturbing imagery, fear analogies, descriptions of acid burns, mild trypophobia, spider mention, mild body horror, description of scars, mentions of fading away, one NSFW joke that will probably go over your head if you're not paying attention

“It’s up here,” Deceit informed as he led the group of sides down the hallway. Roman was right behind him, hand on his sword and ready for anything. Patton and Logan took the middle. Patton’s left arm was wrapped around Logan, and Logan kept as calm as possible to give Patton a sense that everything would eventually be fine. Virgil took up the rear, his head swiveling around behind them every once and a while to make sure nothing was sneaking up on them.

The group stopped at the edge of the hallway. The door leading to the dark side’s section oozed a black mist. It leaked through the crack on the floor and wrapped around their feet like wisps of smoke. 

Roman covered his nose with his hand and gagged. He spoke through it, “It smells like the underside of a dragon’s arm.”

“It smells dead,” Virgil added.

“It probably is,” Deceit answered with a shrug. He waved his hand over the door handle, and the door unlocked with several clicks. It then creaked open on its own.

The mist flooded into the room, the smell growing ten times stronger. It covered the hallway in less than five seconds. The group gagged and struggled to breathe. Deceit walked forward into the dark without hesitation.

“We’re not going in there,” Virgil argued.

Deceit responded, “If we don’t stop whatever this is, it’s going to take over the entire mindscape, trust me.”

“Trust you,” Roman repeated with a roll of his eyes.

Deceit paused. He turned his head; his scales and eye glowed a toxic yellow in the fog and set an eerie glow throughout the smoky room. His eyes narrowed, and his voice came out strong, “If you would rather stay here and be cowards, be my guest. However, I’m going into Remus’s room and finding out what’s going on.”

Without another word, Deceit disappeared into the dark. 

“Do we follow him?” Patton asked, his grip slipping a bit on Logan.

“If we don’t, I fear whatever this is will only get worse,” Logan responded.

Roman took a deep breath and stepped forward. He kept his voice even as he spoke, “Well, we’re not going to solve this standing in the hallway.”

Virgil rushed to the front of the group, his hand gripping so hard onto Roman’s shoulder that Roman let out a surprised squeak. His eyes started to glow purple in the dark light, and he pushed himself into the lead position. “You have no idea where you’re going, Princey. Let me lead.”

“I know where my brother’s room is,” Roman argued.

“Right,” Virgil rolled his eyes. He stepped forward in the hall, his eyes sending a much less eerie purple glow on the mist.

Roman turned to Logan and Patton, who watched Roman for instructions. Roman took a deep breath and pushed the two in front of him. He took the back, his sword fully drawn now, and guarded the group the best he could.

The longer they walked, the thicker the darkness and the stronger the smell grew. They could barely see a hand in front of their faces. Virgil’s footsteps became slow and uncertain. He stopped in his tracks and looked around.

“What’s wrong?” Patton asked behind him.

“We should’ve been there by now,” Virgil responded. He turned his head about. 

“I thought you said you knew where you were going,” Roman shot from the back. Virgil turned with a scowl, but he couldn’t see Roman through the thick darkness.

The yellow glow of Deceit’s eye lit up the smoke. He stood straight in front of Virgil, who backed up a bit and hissed on reflex. Deceit’s expression didn’t change from his unimpressed look.

“What’s the matter? Are you lost?” Deceit asked.

“Where’s my brother’s room?" Roman asked.

“He keeps moving it,” Deceit responded. He turned and started to walk away. This time, Virgil followed behind him.

“It’s that bad?” Virgil asked. Deceit nodded his head. Virgil added, “Why didn’t you tell us something was up sooner?”

“I assumed Remus had it under control,” Deceit said with a shrug.

“Apparently not.”

“Had what under control?” Patton asked.

Deceit and Virgil didn’t answer. Deceit turned to the left, his hand reaching out for something no one could see. It stopped in mid-air like he hit an invisible wall. He slid his hand until it grabbed something circular. With a twist, he opened the door in front of him.

The sides entered the Dark Imagination. Dead trees hung limp in the dusty brown landscape. The sun burned instead of warmed, and the clouds looked ready to storm at any given moment. Strange sounds from no animal they’ve ever heard before warned them to turn back.

“At least the smoke and smell are gone,” Roman said with a humorless laugh.

“That was the door,” Deceit informed. Roman swallowed his next sentence, and Logan rose a brow.

“What do you mean it was the door?” Logan asked. “Doors cannot smoke or give off a smell.”

“They can if Remus’s magic is being used too much,” Deceit informed.

“So what are we looking for?” Virgil asked. He turned his head about. “I thought for sure it’d be close to the door.”

“I’m pretty sure I know,” Roman said. The four turned to Roman, who shivered and added, “It’s one of the foulest creatures I’ve ever seen if it’s the one I’m thinking of.”

“What is it?” Logan asked.

“It was… it’s a dragon, but its skin is made of rotten flesh, and its breath is made of acid. I have no idea what it looks like now, but it was horrific back then.”

“Is it his version of the dragon witch?” Patton asked with a tilt of his head.

“You could say that,” Roman mumbled.

“So, what do we do once we find it?” Virgil asked.

Roman squeezed his sword in his hands and grit his teeth. “We try to get rid of it.”

Deceit turned to him with a knowing look, and he sighed through his nose. The air held a chill, despite the sun setting trees on fire, and the grass crunched and crumbled under their feet. A sour smell rose from a hole in the ground, and eyes seemed to stare through the dead trees of the forest. Trees crumbled and branches broke for no reason at all.

A dark shadow sailed overhead. The shape of a dragon glided over the trees, its body silhouetted in the sun. It landed ungracefully in the grass behind them, the ground shaking under its paws. It turned to them and snarled.

The dragon's scales flashed green in the sunlight. Four horns weighed down its head. Holes lined its cheeks, neck, and wings. Its claws were so long, they almost looked like an extra set of toes. Its ribs were fully visible, and the spines on its back rose in defense, a clear liquid dripping out of them and hissing. It moved toward them with its head low. The only thing natural about it was its golden eyes, which were glistening with water.

Roman held his sword in a defensive position. He shielded the other sides with his arm.

“Be careful,” he warned. “Don’t let it touch you, or you’ll burn.”

“Great,” Virgil remarked. He jolted his arm to make his purple shield appear. Logan’s bow and arrow set landed on his shoulder, and he readied his weapon. 

“It’s in so much pain,” Patton whispered from behind him, grabbing his healing staff in his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white.

“I know,” Deceit answered, a frown lining his face. He was the only one without some sort of fighting assistance as if his body could stop the dragon alone.

The dragon itself stalked toward them, its claws raking the ground. It panted heavily, the sour smell ready to peel the paint off of anything nearby. Its eyes honed in on Roman, and a roar thundered through the forest.

The beast charged. Roman readied his sword. A translucent green liquid leaked from its mouth and spilled onto the ground. It spit a heavy stream of acid at them. Virgil shoved his shield in front of Roman. The acid hissed and burned holes through it, and Virgil dropped the shield with a cry of surprise.

As the dragon leaned down, Roman held the point of his sword out. He poked its nose, and the dragon reared back with a howl. It shook the pain away, drew a deep breath, and sneezed. Globs of mucus rained down and soaked the sides.

“Just what I needed,” Deceit mumbled.

“Bless you,” Patton called out.

The dragon shook its head again and readied another attack. It spit out another wave of acid. Roman pushed Virgil out of the way, and the two of them tumbled in the grass. The dragon stopped and followed them with its eyes. It towered over them and smashed a paw into the ground, trapping them between its claws.

Logan fired three arrows. One lodged itself in the dragon’s cheek, one in its neck, and one in its shoulder. Eventually, the dragon lost interest in the sides pinned under its claws and turned toward the one firing arrows at it. Logan readied another arrow and pushed Patton backward with him. He continued to fire. The arrows lodged themselves into the dragon’s neck, chest, and arms, but it didn’t slow down. Logan shot again, but the dragon easily turned its head to the side. The arrow sailed into the trees. As Logan reached back for another arrow, he grabbed air instead.

“Logan!” Patton shouted as he pushed Logan out of the way in time. The dragon’s acid breath rained down. Logan heard Patton take in a sharp breath. He turned and caught Patton clutching his arm, a deep hole burned into his shirt. He lifted his hand to check the damage and saw black burning skin. With a healing incantation, he put his hand back and did his best to repair the wound.

The dragon would’ve advanced upon them had Deceit not stood in its way. 

“Deceit, what are you doing?” Virgil yelled out and shoved Roman to the side, ready to materialize another shield.

Virgil didn’t make it in time. The dragon towered over Deceit and lowered its head. Its breath blew Deceit’s capelet back, but Deceit didn’t move.

Instead, Deceit reached out and stroked its nose.

“Oh, poor thing, getting poked by big bad Roman,” Deceit cooed. “I’m sure that hurt, didn’t it, baby?”

The dragon whined and closed its eyes. Virgil stood a few steps away, his eyes concentrated on the interaction and ready to step in if needed.

“Deceit,” Logan spoke slow and annunciated each word. “Please tell me this dragon is not your pet.”

“Oh yes,” Deceit rolled his eyes, “because I totally have the power to imagine such a grotesquely designed creature- oh no offense.”

The dragon snorted, spraying Deceit with more snot.

Patton stood from his spot on the ground, despite Logan’s protest and Virgil’s glare from the other side of the dragon's head, and headed toward the dragon as well. The dragon’s head snapped in his direction, and it bared its teeth. Patton’s hands froze in mid-air.

“Easy there,” Patton explained, “I just want to fix up some of these nasty holes, okay?”

Deceit snorted and said, “You can’t heal them with magic, Patton.”

Patton sent him a glare that said ‘watch me’ and tried anyway. The arrow wounds closed easily. However, no matter how many times his hands lit up, the burn holes in the dragon’s skin didn’t heal.

Deceit shook his head and continued, “These wounds aren’t physical. They’re psychological.”

“What do you mean?” Logan asked as he joined Patton’s side.

Deceit turned over to Roman, who approached them with a rather troubled expression on his face. Roman took a deep breath in and released it in a heavy sigh.

“Because,” Roman explained, “this isn’t just a dragon. It’s made from Remus’s fears.”

“Remus has fears?” Virgil asked with a raised brow.

“Of course. Everyone has fears, Virgil,” Logan explained. Virgil sent him an unamused glare but didn’t feel ready to argue over a hypothetical question.

Deceit nodded his head in confirmation. “Usually it’s just a tiny thing. It’s actually kind of cute in its own little way when it’s not a terrifying monster.”

“So, what made it turn into this?” Patton asked as he stroked the dragon's nose. It started to purr.

Deceit shrugged. “We’ll probably have to ask Remus, and the last time I saw him, he wasn’t in a talking mood.”

“Well then, let’s get going,” Roman said as he put his sword back in his hilt. He moved toward the dragon, who snapped its teeth at him, and he jumped back. Virgil materialized his shield on instinct.

“You really think it’s going to let you ride it with the way you behaved?” Deceit asked with a smirk.

“It was worth a shot.”

Deceit moved in front of Roman, stroked the dragon’s nose, and took a deep breath. “Can you take us to Remus?”

The dragon lowered its head. Deceit ran his fingers along its neck as he traveled to its back. He climbed up its shoulder and steadied himself.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Virgil asked as he walked to its side. Neither the dragon or he looked away from each other.

“No,” Deceit replied as he held out his hand for Virgil to take.

Virgil shrugged and took Deceit up on his offer regardless. One by one, the other sides joined them. The dragon spread its wings, which were miraculously still intact with all the holes in them, and took off into the sky.

The flight to Remus’s tower took forever and no time at all. It stood in the lone desert of dead grass. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The dragon landed on the ground outside of the tower, and the sides all got off to continue on their journey.

A door at the base of the tower opened to a winding staircase. With no windows, the passage of time took forever. Patton put his sweater on to chase the damp chill in the air away. The same black smoke and smell from the mindscape oozed down the stairs. The farther they went to the top, the stronger the smell became. Deceit rose his caplet over his nose and Virgil hid inside of his hoodie. Roman and Logan grew silent, knowing the smell all too well.

Eventually, they came across a locked door at the top. Its knocker hung open in a silent scream, and the wood looked old and splintered. Even the stones lining the walls were cracked and looked ready to crumble at the slightest touch.

Deceit raised his knuckle and knocked twice. He called out, “Remus, are you there?”

“Go away,” Remus’s muffled voice answered.

Deceit sighed, turned the door handle, and walked in anyway.

The thick black mist poured out of the room and escaped down the stairs. Logan would’ve commented on the lack of physics, but he was too distracted by the thrown about papers, broken chair, capsized candles, and utter mess that Remus called a bedroom. Remus laid in the fetal position on his bed in the center of the giant mess, his pillow thrown over his head and a blanket wrapped around his body.

“Roman-” Logan started, but Roman cut him off with a knowing look. Logan nodded his head, and the two of them took a deep breath and prepared themselves.

“Remus, kiddo, you okay?” Patton called out.

Remus flinched hearing Patton’s voice, and he closed in on himself even more. “I thought I said for you to go away.”

“Fat chance,” Virgil mumbled.

Logan explained, “Remus, I’m concerned you are experiencing something that Roman and I have in the past, and I-”

“I said go away!” Remus snapped. He grabbed the pillow with his hand and pressed it against his head so hard the others worried he was trying to suffocate himself. 

“Remus,” Roman’s voice called out. Hearing Roman eased Remus’s grip a small bit. He peeked out from underneath the pillow, but just barely so. The purple eyeshadow around his eyes turned into purple bags. Roman continued, “What happened?”

“Oh, you suddenly care now?” Remus said with a humorless laugh. “All these years tossing aside my ideas because they didn’t fit your fantasy, and now you’re concerned because I’m not thinking up anything useful.”

“Useful?” Deceit said with a raised brow.

“Yes, useful! It’s been over a month, and nothing!”

“What are you talking about?” Roman asked. “You’ve been thinking up all sorts of horrible things. Remember the spiders that appeared in Patton’s cereal bowl?”

Patton shuddered and added, “And the alligator that was under Virgil’s bed?”

“I couldn’t get out of bed for twelve hours,” Virgil mumbled.

Deceit said, “And what about when you made my skin actually shed like a snake?”

Remus sighed. “Yes, but it’s not enough.”

“Not enough?” Roman echoed.

“Yes, not enough!” Remus sat up and threw the pillow on the floor. His hair was a wild mess, more so than usual. His skin had cracks going all down his skin, some oozing the same smoke from before. His red, puffy eyes glistened with unshed tears. “It’s never enough!”

“For what?” Patton asked.

“To get a rise out of you! To make you think about me and how horrible I am! To have you care about something I do. You all just… ignore it and hope I go away, and I-” Remus’s voice cracked. He pounded his fists into his eyes and took a shuddering breath. His lungs shook as he whispered, “I just want to be cared about for two seconds. Is that too much to ask? I don’t want to fade away.”

“Oh, sweetie, you’re not going to fade away,” Deceit whispered.

“Maybe that’s not the best sentence coming from you,” Virgil whispered. Deceit opened his mouth to argue, and Virgil continued, “but maybe… from us.”

Remus didn’t take his hands away from his eyes, but at least he was breathing normally. Or maybe he just stopped to listen. It was a bit hard to tell.

“Remus, without you, Thomas wouldn’t be able to dive into darker ideas,” Logan explained, “and while Roman’s idea of fantasy is all well and good, occasionally a dark idea is needed to get them going.”

“You know we create the best work when we work together,” Roman added. “Remember when we created the dragon witch? She still haunts my imagination to this day when it’s my turn with her.”

Remus’s broken laugh answered.

Deceit turned to Virgil, and Virgil rolled his eyes. “And I guess without you, I’d have even less things to complain about. I mean, I can make Thomas pretty scared, but you, well let’s just say you’re fuel to my fire, and sometimes it can be kinda funny to watch Thomas react to your weird ideas.”

Patton put his hands on his hips, and he sighed. He said, “And I know that you and I have had our… differences in the past, but I think without you, it’d be a little too quiet in the mindscape. You’re a Re-must have.”

“And don’t get me started on how lonely this place would be without you,” Deceit added. “Especially with only these four for company. I think I would go more insane than you.”

Only then did Remus peek between his fingers. He smiled behind his hands, his tears finally freeing themselves from his eyes.

“Well I mean, you didn’t have to go and make me cry,” Remus said. “What if they turn to acid and burn my skin? Oh, wouldn’t that be delightfully horrible.”

Remus let out a mix between a laugh and a sob as his tears literally turned to acid and burned his skin. It gathered a mix of horrified to exasperated expressions.

“Now, how about we get those cracks taken care of?” Deceit asked as he walked closer. Remus looked wary for a moment, but he didn’t say anything as Deceit sat next to him.

“You can’t take care of them in the traditional sense,” Logan informed. “Much like how you said the dragon couldn’t be healed, these wounds are psychological as a result of overusing your function. Both Roman and I have subjected ourselves to this. The only way for the cracks to go away is some much-needed rest.”

“But I don’t want to rest,” Remus whined.

Patton rolled up his sleeves, having taking care of two other sides with this condition and well enough knowing what to do, said, “Come on, kiddo. I’ll tuck you in.”

Remus pouted but didn’t object as Deceit lowered Remus onto the bed. Patton shook the bed bugs out of Remus’s blankets and curled them around Remus’s body.

“Don’t I get a good night kiss, daddy?” Remus asked and batted his eyelashes.

Patton curled up his nose, but he nonetheless leaned down and planted a small kiss on Remus’s forehead.

“I wouldn’t mind a bedtime story, either,” Remus said and turned his head toward Roman.

Roman smiled and sat down on the bed at Remus’s feet. “I would be honored and delighted.”

For about an hour, Roman sat on the bed and strung up a fairytale. Remus interjected his own ideas from time to time, and Roman did his best to weave them into the story. While he rambled, Logan got fresh water for Remus to drink and an ice pack to help with the fever Remus produced from the burnout. Deceit and Virgil sat in the corner and watched the light sides care for Remus.

“So, how long do you think it’ll last?” Virgil asked.

Deceit shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be back to his old self in no time.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Virgil mumbled.

Deceit turned to him and rose a brow, but the gentle huff from his nose showed he understood Virgil’s question. He shrugged again. “Well, it took them almost a year to fully accept you.”

Virgil made a hum of acknowledgment under his breath.

“And if they can learn to love you, maybe they can warm up to Remus too,” Deceit added in a much quieter voice. “He could use it with everything he’s been through.”

Soon, Remus had fallen under the spell of Roman's story and into a deep sleep. His snores rattled the window. Roman let out a long sigh and gladly took the glass of water Logan had waiting for him.

“I’m going to stay here,” Roman explained, “for when he wakes up.”

“You’re sure?” Logan questioned with a raised brow.

“I’m sure,” Roman responded. “It’s been a while since I’ve been with him. Maybe… maybe it’s all he needs right now.”

Patton nodded and said, “If you’re sure, kiddo. But you call us if anything goes- if you need anything, okay?”

Roman smiled. He produced a coloring book and started to fill the pages and his boredom. The other sides exited the room and traveled down the stairs toward the floor level.

Outside the castle, the dragon from earlier awaited. However, it was much smaller now, maybe the size of a large horse. Its green scales shimmered in the light, and the holes on its face had disappeared and scarred over. It chirped happily upon seeing them and ran over to lick Deceit’s face.

“Well, it looks like we eased a bit of his fear,” Deceit said through the drool.

The dragon moved and swiped its tongue over Virgil as well, who made a disgusted noise.

“Yeah, yeah, can we just go now?” Virgil whined. “This adventure is starting to drag on way too long.”

Patton’s coy smile preceded, “Don’t you mean drag-on? Ya know, like dragon?"

Logan sighed heavily through his nose. “On second thought, I think I’ll stay with Remus as well. His company was far more delightful.”

Deceit snorted through his nose. He turned his head up toward the tower’s window. Remus’s snores could still be heard through the glass, and a fond smile crossed his lips. 

“I don’t think he’d mind that at all.”


End file.
